Over the Waist-High Fence

One evening in 2012, five young racialized men, including the 20-year-old Accused, were gathered in the small private backyard of a townhouse at a housing co-operative in Ontario. The yard was enclosed by a waist-high fence. Three police officers arrived without a warrant. They wanted to check whether any of the young men was a wanted suspect or knew where one was, and to look into possible drug dealing linked to the property. Two officers walked into the yard without consent, asked the men what was going on, who they were and whether any of them lived there, and asked for identification. The third officer patrolled the perimeter and then stepped over the fence. One young man was told to keep his hands visible. Asked for identification, the Accused said he had none; he was then asked what was in his satchel. He ran, was chased and arrested, and was found with a loaded handgun, drugs and cash. Was he arbitrarily detained, and if so, should the gun and drugs be excluded?